


Refuge

by wyse_ink



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Bonding, Canon Compliant, Conversations, F/M, Gen, Post-Canon, Post-Movie(s), Short One Shot, Slight Background Shinkane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 14:43:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12014931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyse_ink/pseuds/wyse_ink
Summary: Evenings like these were rare, and once every year when they occurred, Akane became increasingly aware of how out of practice she’d fallen when it came to small talk.





	Refuge

      It never ceased to amaze her just how painful a shoe could be when worn long enough. Akane stooped down, slipping off her black pumps and letting out a sigh of relief as she stepped onto the cool ground. The air around her was crisp and rich with the smells of the surrounding flora on the venue’s rooftop garden: bursts of purple heather and gardenia among others she couldn’t name. Through these wound a stone path, one she followed aimlessly until she reached a bench at the end and took a seat. She inhaled again as she stretched her legs out before her, trying to enjoy the merits of her escape while she could.  
      _Greet the higher-ups from the other ministries. Smile and be accommodating. Move on._ Kasei’s voice had echoed in her head throughout the entire evening, each repetition causing her smile to become more and more strained. Evenings like these were rare, and once every year when they occurred, Akane became increasingly aware of how out of practice she’d fallen when it came to small talk.  
      The realization was almost funny. Once, she would’ve enjoyed herself fully: the banquet might have been a reminder that she had made it in her career, that she’d been chosen as a person who could best represent the Public Safety Bureau. Back then, she never would’ve pictured herself feeling any different. And yet, she thought to herself as she exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, like everything else those feelings and ambitions had changed.  
      “Tsunemori.”  
      Akane’s eyes opened slowly, almost reluctantly, to take in the familiar frame of her colleague standing before her. Ginoza raised an eyebrow slightly, and quickly she sat up and crossed her feet. “I needed some fresh air.”  
      “Tonight more than usual, I’d think.” The corners of his lips twitched upward, as if to tell her he understood. He turned to one of the nearby plants and studied it for a moment before speaking again. “Inspector Shimotsuki told me to find you.”  
      “And you did exactly that, Ginoza-san,” Akane said simply, moving to the side of the bench. With a small nod, he turned back and took a seat beside her. She watched him as he leaned back, his hair falling over his shoulders and his eyes closing. It’d been a long time since she’d seen him like this, outside of the bureau or even just in a state of ease. He’d never been the type to relax, always worrying or stewing about something he couldn’t control.  
      In fact, she thought, suppressing the smirk that threatened to cross her face, she wasn’t sure she ever had seen him like this. Over the course of the six years they’d worked together their relationship had undergone drastic changes. The Ginoza she’d first met had been a very different man: difficult, cantankerous to the extent that she’d finally confronted him, even cruel at times. Yet over time he’d evolved into this kinder version of himself, and as she’d learned to understand him more, he’d become one of her most--if not her most--trusted colleagues.  
      She was certain he knew that too. As if in response, he stretched his own feet forward, just as she’d done moments before. “I can’t tell if you’re enjoying yourself or not.”  
      “Really.” He smirked, not bothering to open his eyes. “Let’s just say I’m glad enforcers aren’t expected to uphold the same standards.”  
      “You do though.”  
      For a moment, he was silent, and Akane wondered if it wasn’t a topic he wanted her to press further. While she’d grown to understand him, there were still subjects he preferred to avoid, and she found herself wondering if this was one of them. Ginoza had adjusted to his role as an enforcer more quickly than anyone had anticipated, and often Akane had wondered if it was truly the role he’d adjusted to or just a necessity for a cause.  
      The latter wouldn’t have been a first for someone in their line of work.  
      “Old habit,” he muttered finally, interrupting her thoughts and glancing at her. “Not necessarily a good one, either.” Something in his tone confirmed her suspicion, so instead, she reached for her shoes. She could feel him watching her as she picked one up and studied it.  
      “Do you think if I left them off anyone would notice?” she asked, a part of her only half-kidding. To her surprise, he laughed.  
      “I think it’d actually be an improvement,” he said, his gaze drifting toward the shoe that still laid flat on the ground. “It’s uncomfortable enough without having to watch you hobble around in them for the rest of the night.”  
      “Am I that obvious?”  
      “Tsunemori.” He turned to her, his eyes softening. “I’m just teasing. You were starting to seem a little on edge, though. I’m guessing your shoes weren’t the reason.”  
      Akane paused for a minute, running a hand over the soft, black suede. He was right of course. With each guest she greeted, every question they asked and narrative they gave without reason, she’d found it harder to listen. Her mind had drifted into a lull, listening to the low buzz around her and the quiet orchestra music that played in the background. At first, she’d chalked it off on tiredness, though quickly she’d dismissed the thought, knowing fully that it wouldn’t have had such a strong effect. Yet the more hands she’d shaken--the more faces she’d seen--the more she felt like her time would’ve been better spent elsewhere.  
      She’d sighed, a sad smile crossing her face. “I’m sorry you got dragged along on your night off.”  
      “Well, I was going to volunteer anyway,” he admitted, his voice somewhat distant. “Kunizuka can’t even remember the last time she had a night to herself.” Akane didn’t miss the implication in his tone. While it went widely unspoken to her knowledge, her colleague of the same rank had a habit of playing favorites when it came to the enforcers, even when it inconvenienced them or conflicted with their schedules. When the topic of the annual ministry banquet had come up, Inspector Shimotsuki had immediately requested that Yayoi be a guest for what she called “cautionary measures,” and that was who Akane had expected to see when the car had arrived. Instead, she’d found Ginoza there, being given an earful about proper conduct in the upcoming setting. Akane had relieved him once they’d arrived, and Shimotsuki had busied herself in chatter among the others.  
      “Do you miss it?”  
      “This?” he asked, and she nodded. “No. I thought I would at first. If anything, coming here proved the opposite.” He paused as if thinking for a moment before continuing. “You know, they’d placed bets before your first one.”  
      “Bets?” she asked, turning to him.  
      “Kagari’s idea,” he continued, smirking. “‘See if the new girl can last’ was the gist of it. These banquets can be a lot for a rookie inspector, especially when other guests get nosy and start asking too many questions.”  
      Akane hesitated for a moment. “How did I fare?”  
      “That was the interesting part,” he said. “It seems that while they’d begun to trust you as an inspector, they were less sure about how you would handle politics. My father and Kogami voted in your favor as they always did.”  
      _As they always did_. Akane’s eyes drifted to a nearby heather. She’d long known that she held the trust of her original co-workers, and those she hadn’t in the beginning she’d eventually won over. Kogami had been different; she’d always felt he’d been the first in the division to trust her, regardless of the situation. Later, he’d even confessed his confidence in her through the form of a handwritten letter with his departure, and again the night they’d reunited in Shamballa.  
      Over time, she’d begun to wonder if his faith in her was blind. If he’d known the things she now did, would he still have written that letter? She’d seen him, the way he’d seemed to struggle with himself when she’d spoken with him that night, as if he felt he’d lost sight of something and no longer knew what that something even was. He’d been living in a chaos he’d admitted he didn’t fully understand. Yet when he’d looked at her, his eyes had been the same as they always had. They were the same, familiar blue that hung onto her every word. They were the same that studied her with that curious and amused expression only he could give and that she’d memorized so well.  
      The same that fully believed she would be right to pull the trigger.  
      She wondered how her own must look to him.  
      Wordlessly, she stood up, smoothing the skirt of her dress behind her. She could feel Ginoza watching her as she slipped her still-aching feet back into her shoes and turned. “I should probably be going back,” she told him, managing a small smile. “If you’d like to stay I can come up with an excuse.” He watched her knowingly for a moment, a sad smile briefly crossing his face before he stood and joined her. Together they returned to the crowd, leaving the setting to its peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! It's been a long time since I've written anything for this fandom, and I've missed it dearly. This is a little idea that came to me over a year ago, but for some reason, I never wrote out until now. I love the idea of Akane and Gino helping each other out in little ways like these and wanted to explore that in a rare instance away from both work and the MWPSB. I hope you enjoyed this short little drabble even though I'm terribly rusty. 
> 
> As always, please do not re-post, copy, or plagiarize any portion of this work. You can find this work on my writing-based Tumblr, http://wyseink.tumblr.com/search/wyseinkworks. It will also be reblogged to my Psycho-Pass blog, http://www.psychosibyl.tumblr.com.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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